Some called him cocky, but [url=http://www.mmaweekly.com/?s=jordan burroughs&x=0&y=0]Jordan Burroughs[/url] called it confidence with his Twitter handle simply titled ‘All I See Is Gold’. It was a prognostication that came true on Friday as Burroughs captured the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic games.

The former Nebraska All-American and NCAA champion was the odds on favorite to win the gold medal at 74kg (163lbs), but still had to go through some very tough competition to secure the win in London.

Burroughs bested Puerto Rican Francisco Daniel Soler Tanco before moving on to defeat Canadian Matthew Gentry to reach the semifinals.

The New Jersey native then faced old rival Denis Tsargush in the semifinals, a rematch of a 2011 World Championship finals bout that Burroughs won. Despite a surge from the Russian in early going, Burroughs battled back to get a takedown to win the match in the end.

That set the finals up as Burroughs took on Iran’s Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi in the gold medal match.

Burroughs’ lightning fast counters made all the difference in the match as he bided his time until the Iranian made a mistake, and he quickly pounced to snag two takedowns. The second takedown secured Burroughs’ place as the gold medal winner, and immediately after the victory he jumped in the air to celebrate.

Following the win, Burroughs ran into the crowd, feverishly looking to find his supporters and parents in the mass of people in London.

As the medal ceremony began, Burroughs was all smiles as he leapt to the stage to have the gold medal put around his neck. He sang along to the Star-Spangled Banner before holding up his gold medal in victory.

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"Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick. Everyone knows that a burrow owl lives in a hole in the ground. Why the hell do you think they call it a burrow owl, anyway?"